Unconsciously, I backed away, a gasp of air rushed out when my back hit a wall. I swallowed to ease the dryness in my mouth. “C-can I help you?” I flinched, hating the break in my voice.
In less than three strides, he stopped in front of me, fists punching the wall on either side of my head. His six-foot-something frame smothering my breathing space. My lids snapped shut, panic tearing my insides and I had the sudden urge to sink to the floor.
“Open your fucking eyes, girl,” he demanded. I did, craning my neck to meet eyes the color of a midwinter sky, swirling with a hundred hues of menace. The blood in my veins crystallized as he brought his face close to mine, letting me feel the hiss of his infuriated breath on my skin. Holding myself rigid, I pushed back into the wall as if it was some magic portal able to swallow me whole and hide me from him. “If you ever walk away from my fucking table again, you’ll regret the day your father’s seed fucked the egg that made you,” he snarled, annoyance rolling off him in waves. “I told you, you’re mine to do as I please until I say different, did I not?”
I nodded, fear paralyzing every other cell in my body. When he finally stepped back, only then did I breathe, ragged exhales, that spewed from my mouth followed by desperate inhales through flared nostrils. Without thinking I moved toward the bathroom, hoping to escape him when my movements were abruptly stalled. Breathing hard, I glanced down at the strong fingers wrapped around my wrist, the grip tight. Slowly, I lifted my head.
That gaze dark, almost midnight in its shade yet didn’t detract from the steely glint challenging me to resist, to break free of his hold and run. His voice, however, was deceptively serene when he asked, “Why the look of surprise, Zena? You knew what you were asking for when you left the table, didn’t you?”
A feeling of dread washed over me, a familiar anxiety I’d come to expect around this man. Still, I held my ground, facing him, waiting for his next move, not wanting to anger him further.
“You think I haven’t seen the looks you sent my way since I sat down at the bar last night. Your mouth hanging open as if you’re waiting to taste my cock. Your eyes undressing like you’d devour me in a second.” His brow shot up, his laugh cynical. “Did I get it wrong,mia caro? You don’t want to fuck me?”
“I shouldn’t—”
His laugh was caustic, ripping the words from my mouth. “That’s not an answer.”
“Let me go, Lorenzo,” I squeaked, my attempt at sounding normal failing.
“No,” the monosyllabic reply snapped the air from my lungs as he yanked me forward, pinning my arm behind my back and crushing my chest to his. “I haven’t even decided how long you’ll live yet and you’re telling me what to do?”
“Fuck you,” the words discharged before my stupid brain could process my thoughts.
“I will,mia caro.”
His free hand slipped into my hair, fisting the soft curls before jerking my head back. I cringed against his rough punishing grip. Those blue orbs scanned my face, lowering to my exposed throat and watching as I swallowed repeatedly. While my mind screamed in fear, a zing of desire vibrated through every fucking bone in my body, desperate for him. Was I fucking insane? How could I want and despise a man at the same time?
“Don’t fight me, Zena. All it does, is make my cock hard, and I doubt you’re resilient enough to handle it.”
That primal need to lash back gushed through my veins, igniting my irritation. I met his gaze head on. “Do you enjoy exploiting the fear of others, Lorenzo?” I heard myself ask.Fuck.
Another second and he had me bent over the bed trapped under his body. His cock, thick and hard pressed into my ass as he ground his hips. “Women with a backbone tend to get killed faster, or others perhaps,” his derisive warning cut through me, stilling my heart. I knew what he was doing—using Rayden to instill fear in me and it worked. I stopped squirming. “Does Rayden know you imagine me fucking you when you look at me, Zena? Does he know just how much you want me to lick your pussy, to bite your clit until you’re begging to come. Does he?” His hips lurched forward, ramming his cock into me.
“No. I don’t,” I hissed, forgetting his threat a few seconds ago and trying to fight his hold but he was too strong.
His laugh was low, sarcastic as if he knew I was lying. “If I slip my fingers into your panties right now, I won’t find your pussy wet, is that what you’re saying?”
“Get off me, Lorenzo,” I pleaded, more from embarrassment than dread, fearing he’d go through with his threat and discover just how right he was.
“Wrong answer.” He ran a hand up the back of my thigh, squeezing hard as he neared the apex. Even through the material of the pants, I could feel the burn of his palm. I squirmed to stop him, but he cupped my pussy.
“You’re an asshole,” I reacted without thinking.
“Am I?” He dipped his hand inside the waistband of my pants, and I tensed.
“Don’t,” I whispered on a panic-induced exhale.
It was too late. His fingers slid between my legs, and I couldn’t stop the whimper that fell from my lips. “If I’m an asshole,” he rolled a finger through my slit, “and your pussy is dripping, what does that make you.”
I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. “Fucked.”
A soft laugh rumbled from his chest. “Not yet,mia caro.” He moved his fingers, pressing down on my clit, and I clawed at the bed covers to keep from thrusting into his hand, yet I couldn’t stop another moan spilling from my gasping lips and hating myself for it.
“Would you like to come, Zena?” I refused to answer, not sure what he was playing at. But he was having none of that. He pinched my clit and I bucked under the pain. “Don’t ignore me,mia caro, you won’t like the repercussions.”
Still, I remained silent, begging my body to withstand whatever he threw my way. He wasn’t a man to be tested. Gripping my hair, he jerked my head backward until I was bowed at the waist, every muscle in my body pulled taut and my eyes meeting his darkened stare. His expression a smirk that easily said, ‘you won’t resist for long, so quit trying.” It made me determined to, but I wasn’t prepared for the two fingers he slipped into my pussy and my curse resembled a groan even to my ears. He cocked a brow, adding another finger and I inhaled sharply, moaning as he fucked me with quick, short bursts.
My body refused every attempt to not respond. Beads of pleasure seeped through the resistance, circling wide and igniting a flame in my belly. Heat swirled from my nape down, racing toward my pussy in an untamed burn. I jerked, my inner muscles clenching when he flicked the nail of his thumb over my clit. A shudder rolling through my body at the intensity of that small stroke.
